For Elena

Lyrics

their exact words

Verso 1

I work in construction, seventeen years now

I leave the house at half five in the morning

I am not much of a talker, honestly

In my house, the one who talks is somebody else

Estribillo

Elena, you are the one who asks how are you

And then actually waits for the answer

Elena, you have been making room for me

For twenty years, you keep making room

Verso 2

When Diego was born, I froze in the corridor

I could not walk in, and you, holding the baby

Called out to me, "Marco, come in, he does not bite"

You had given birth, and you were calming me down

That day I learned courage is not having no fear

It is making room for somebody else's fear

Puente

I want you to know this house works because you hold it up

Not because I pay the bills, I see the chair every morning

And if I had to start over, I would freeze in that corridor again

Just to hear you tell me to come in

I want to be the one who speaks first, even when it is hard

I want to be the one who asks how are you and waits for the real answer

And most of all, I want you to paint again

Estribillo

Elena, you are the one who asks how are you

And then actually waits for the answer

Elena, you have been making room for me

For twenty years, you keep making room

Outro

Elena, I want you to paint again. That most of all.

I want you to paint again.

I want to be the one who asks how are you and waits for the real answer, the way you do.

That is not who I am every day, who I said I want to be for you.